Dance Instructors

Our Bay Area dance instructors includes some of the finest that the Northern California dance community has to offer.  Dancers learn on both indoor and outdoor dance floors among the Sonoma Redwoods.  There are 8 hours of classes from Thursday-Saturday and 5 hours of classes on Sunday for a total of an amazing 29 hours!  Once you’ve registered for Kosmos Camp you can take any dance class offered by our dance instructors.

Portsha Jefferson—Haitian Dance

Portsha Jefferson began her formal dance training at the age of six at the Marsha Woody Dance Academy in Beaumont, Texas. A passionate believer in education and youth development, she has worked for several youth organizations including The Young Performers Theater, The San Francisco Arts Education Project, Westlake School of the Arts, Opera Picolla, DanceVersity and Swivel Arts. Ms. Jefferson has taught creative movement and Haitian Folkloric dance in schools, universities, community centers and dance studios for twelve years. Established in 2004, Ms. Jefferson is the founder and artistic director of Rara Tou Limen (RTL), an arts organization that presents Haitian music, dance & culture through classes, workshops, performances, and cultural tours to Haiti.  Currently, Ms. Jefferson is a guest instructor/choreographer at the University of California at Berkeley, Teen Dance Center in Mountain View, and is an artist in residence for Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and SF Unified School District. In addition, she is an instructor at East Bay Dance Center, Dance Mission Theater and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. She also serves as a Cultural Arts Specialist with Oakland Parks and Recreation where she continues to share her love of dance with Oakland youth.   Her website here!   Watch Portsha’s dance company here!

Naby Bangoura—West African Dance

A native of Guinea, West Africa, Naby grew up dancing. He traveled and performedwith Les Ballets Merveilles for many years before coming to America. In New York, he taught at the Djoniba School, as well as at the Abized School. He hasalso taught at the Jewish Community Center of Houston, Texas and the DanceGallery in Santa Cruz, California. Currently he teaches West African Guineandance at San Francisco’s prestigious ODC dance studio as well as otherreputable Bay Area dance studios. Naby’s dynamic skills and soaring spirithave established his dance class as one of Kosmos Camp’s high energy. There is live West African drumming that accompanies Naby’s dance class.  Watch Naby’s West African Dance Class at Kosmos Camp here.  If you want to learn more about West African Dance click here.

Rafaella Falchi—Brazilian Samba Dance

With over a decade of professional dance experience, Rafaella has performed with numerous Brazilian dance companies, both locally and internationally (including Europe and Brazil). She has performed in many events such as the SF Carnaval Ball and Carnaval Parade.   Following extensive study of Brazilian dance, both locally and in Brazil, she began teaching Brazilian dance in 2003 and became co-founder of Sambamora Dance Company in 2004. She recently started her own dance company, SambaxÈ, which offers dance classes, performances, and costume design. Her samba classes have been awarded Best of the Bay and one of her students won the title of Queen of SF Carnaval in 2009.  Rafaella teaches at various Bay Area dance studios.  She also leads annual music and dance workshops in Brazil and Mexico. Live music by Bateria Blocura accompanies Rafaella’s high-energy dance classes. Watch Rafaella’s Samba Dance Class at Kosmos Camp. Watch Rafaella’s Performance at Kosmos Camp.  Click here to learn more about the Brazilian Dance Samba.

Joti Singh—Bhangra & Bollywood Style Indian Dance

As Artistic Director and founder of Duniya Dance and Drum Company in San Francisco, Joti teaches, choreographs and performs Bhangra, Bollywood (Indian dance), and West African dance styles both nationally and internationally. Bollywood dance, as seen in the popular musical films from India, integrates various dance forms, including Indian folk dance, kathak, hip hop, and jazz. Joti’s fun, high-energy choreography and clear teaching style have led to her popularity as a performer and instructor. She recently received the Creative Work Fund grant to do a project on the Punjabi-Mexican communities of California. She teaches in San Francisco dance studios and is a well known figure in the Bay Area dance community.  Joti is very excited to join the Kosmos staff as a dance instructor! Watch Joti’s Bollywood class at Kosmos Camp. Watch Joti’s Bollywood Performance at Kosmos Camp.
Click here to learn more about Bhangra dance.

Shoshanna —Belly Dance

Shoshanna is from Arcata, in the Redwoods on California’s North Coast, and has danced many styles before finding her art in Middle Eastern dance in 1991. Shoshanna serves on the dance faculty of Humboldt State University, directs the Ya Habibi Dance Company, produces music and dance events such as the Redwood Coast Belly Dance Festival, owns Redwood Raks World Dance Studio, and teaches and performs across the US. She appears on numerous performance and instructional DVDs and in 2004 earned the title of Belly Dancer of the Year.  At Kosmos Camp Shoshanna will be focused on beginning-intermediate Bellydance classes. Watch Shoshanna’s Kosmos Camp Bellydance Class.

Dudley Flores — Modern Dance

Dudley is a native of San Francisco and started dancing in high school musical theater. Since then he’s expanded his movement vocabulary and has had the opportunity to work (and play) with Charles Moulton, Paco Gomes & Dancers (Afro-Brazilian), and David Schrag and Micaya (Hip Hop). He’s worked with the Printz Dance Project since 2003, and currently also works with RAW Dance and Janice Garrett & Dancers. Offstage, he is the Artistic Director of the Rhythm & Motion Dance Workout Program at ODC Dance Commons in San Francisco, and is on the steering committee for Bay Area National Dance Week. Pulling effectively from many dance genres, Dudley is a great fit for Kosmos Camp so be sure to check out his dance class! Watch Dudley Flores’ Kosmos Camp Class.

Ryan Meade, Salsa Rueda

Ryan is co-director and co-founder with Sidney Weaverling of Rueda Con Ritmo, a Cuban-style dance school and performing group based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With more than five years’ experience teaching Cuban and Miami-style salsa, Ryan has given workshops across the country, from Atlanta to Alaska, and in Mexico. Ryan also has nearly two decades of experience as a percussionist – he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory, and has taken several trips to Cuba to study music (most recently on a grant from Stanford). Being both dancer and percussionist, Ryan is uniquely positioned to illuminate that most fundamental, yet seldom discussed, part of dance – its connection with the music. Most recently he has been innovating a vocabulary of rhythmic calls and steps to aid dancers in the understanding and interpretation of Cuban music. Sidney is a longtime contributer to the currently thriving Cuban-style salsa scene in the SF Bay Area, with more than 10 years of experience as a teacher, performer, and choreographer. She has studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) in Cuba with the Caribbean Music and Dance program, and hosted study trips for her students at myriad schools in Miami, notably SalsaLovers and Salsa Racing.

Nancy Rubin,  Rhythm and Motion Workout  & Yoga Rhythms

Nancy Rubin has been a member of the Rhythm and Motion family for over 25 years. She was originally trained in Jazz dance and taught and performed in Los Angeles, Marin and San Francisco. Nancy is highly regarded for her ability to translate dance movements to all levels of students-be it beginners or seasoned dancers. She is a firm believer that dance enriches and enhances life, and works to make it available to all.  Check Rhythm & Motion’s website for more:  http://www.rhythmandmotion.com/about.php 

Elizabeth Soberanes— Latin Dance Grooves

Elizabeth Soberanes holds a bachelors degree in Dance Ethnology from SFSU; and has been teaching Rhythm and Motion’s Fusion Rhythms dance classes since 2001. She is a graduate of the Performing Arts Workshop Artist-in-Residence Program and a student of Dunham Technique, modern, Hip Hop, Jazz, Haitian, Brazilian and Cuban dance forms. She has worked with several local dance companies, performed on stage in Carnaval San Francisco and in 2001 was crowned Queen of SF Carnaval. She traveled to Brazil in 2000 and to Cuba in 2001 & 2008 to study dance and participate in their Carnaval celebrations. Elizabeth regularly travels to New York and Miami to study dance, and most recently, began studying Patricia Moreno’s IntenSati Mind/Body Workout. 
 She teaches regularly at ODC Commons and Mission Culture Center in the Mission District of San Francisco. Watch Elizabeth’s SF 2010 Carnaval Choreography!

Tika Morgan— Silvestre Technique (Brazilian) & Reggaeton